Station-indicator



2 L L E W 9 D L A O B L STATION INDICATOR.

Patented Mar;- l, 1898. It

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Patented Mar. 1, 1898.

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THE Nonms PETERS co.. PNOTO-LITHO, wunmcrrcu D c UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

LISLE B. CALDWELL, OF JOHNSON OITY, TENNESSEE.

STATION-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,829, dated March 1,1898.

Application filed April 19, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LISLE B. CALDWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at J ohnson City, in the county, of Washington and State ofTennessee, have invented new and useful Improvements inStation-Indicators,

' of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in station or street indicators forcars; and the. object thereof is to provide a street or stationindicator of novel construction and operation and which is simple,economical, and accurate in operation.

To these ends the invention consists in the new combination,construction, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a vertical section of a street or station indicatorconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a front planview, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the card-tray.Fig. 4. is a detail view of one of the street or station indicatorcards. Fig. 5 is a Vertical section of a different form of my invention.Fig. 6 is a plan partly in section thereof. Figs. 7 and 8 are views ofdetails.

My improved street or station indicator is conveniently arranged withinthe usual toiletroom at the end of a steam-railway car or in a suitableboxing or casing which may be secured in any convenient Way or positionin a street-railway car. In the drawings this casin g orboxing,consisting of the toilet-room or other housing, as stated above, isrepresented by the reference-numeral 1 and is provided with a window orsight-opening 2, through which the street or station indicating cardsmay constantly be seen by the passengers. Within the casing 1 isarranged a tray 3, terminating at its front end a slight distance fromthe frontwall 4: of the boxing or casing, a space being left betweensaid wall and the end of the tray for the purpose hereinafter described,whereby the casing orboxing is divided into upper and lower compartmentscommunicating at their front ends. The bottom of said tray is providedwith a pair of rails or a'trackway 6, upon which the street or stationindicating cards travel in the operation of the device, and at the topsaid tray Serial No. 632,838. on model.)

is provided with a similar pair of rails or a trackway 7, which bearupon the top edges of the street or station indicating cards. Thefunction of these rails or trackways is to guide the street or stationindicating cards in their movement, retain them in proper position,andtominimize friction in the movement of the cards.

The numeral 8 indicates a shaft journaled to rotate in suitablebearings'9, supported by the wall of the casing. Upon this shaft ismounted two rollers or reels 10, arranged a distance apart substantiallyequal to the width of the tray 3. To each of these rollers or reels 10is secured one end of a belt or tape 11, the other ends of which aresecured to a follower 12, moving in the tray 3. Intermediate their endssaid belts or bands 11 are provided with a series of holes or eyes 13,which for strength may be stayed with metal similar to the usual eyelet.These eyes or eyelets are arranged a distance apart on the belts orbands equal to the width of one of the street or station indicatingcards.

. It is now convenient to describe the construction of one of the streetor station indicating cards, of which all have the same construction.The numeral 14 indicates one of these cards, on the front face of whichis printed or otherwise suitably inscribed the name of a street orstation, it being understood, of course, that a series of these cardsare provided corresponding to the number and bearing the names of theseveral streets or stations at which the car stops during the trip. Eachcard is provided at its bottom edge with a pair of recesses 15, whichtake uponthe rails or tracks 6, whereby the cards are caused tomove'accurately in the tray 3. At' the back of each card, near thebottom and near each end, is secured a pin 16. The cards are arranged,as shown in the drawings,'in the tray in front of the follower 12, therecesses 15 engaging the track or rails 6 and the pins engaging theeyelets 13 in the bands or belts 11, the material of the latter betweenthe eyelets folding up between adjacent or contiguous cards. Thefollower is forced forward by a pair, preferably,of springs 17, theaction of said springs moving said follower and the street or stationindicating cards forward. intermittingly as the front card is withdrawn,as hereinafter described. A set-screw 18 passes through the rear wall ofthe casing 1 and engages a movable plate 19, against which the ends ofthe springs 17 bear in order that the tension of said springs may beregulated. At the front of the tray 3 pressure-bars 20 are arranged,against which the cards are caused to bear with sufficient force toprevent the front card falling through the passage or space 5 until themech anism hereinafter described is positively actuated to carry saidcard through the passage or space 5 into the lower compartment.

The mechanism for intermittingly moving the device to cause a card todisappear from the window or sight-opening 2 and permit the springs andfollower to present a new card consists of a cylinder 21,supported on aframework 22, arranged on the floor of the casing 1, said cylinder beingprovided with a piston 23, the rod 21 of which is connected at its upperend with one end of a pawl 25, pivoted to the front wall of the casing,the nose of which pawl engages and rotates a ratchetwheel 26, carried bythe shaft 8. A dog 27 is arranged to cooperate with said ratchetwheeland hold it in position to which it is rotated by the dog.

It may be found desirable to sound an alarm when a street or stationcard is exposed to view to attract the attention of passengers thereto,and therefore I arrange a gong 28 in juxtaposition to the pawl 25 to bestruck thereby and sounded when the pawl is actuated by the piston 23.

Ihe numeral 29 indicates a pipe or tube connecting with the cylinder forconducting air, or steam, or liquid thereto to actuate the piston. Saidpiston is returned to normal position by the spring 30, arranged in thecylinder and cooperating therewith.

The piston may be actuated by air, steam, or liquid pressure at eachstation or street by the engineer or other operator thereof by suitableconnections to the pipe or tube 29; but as such connections form no partof the present invention they are not shown or described herein.

It is convenient also to provide means by which the device may in caseof necessity be operated by hand, and to enable this to be done Iprovide a pull rope or cord 31, one end of which is connected withthepawl and the handle end of which is located outside of the casingwithin the reach of an operator. The action of the apparatus when thepull rope or cord is operated is precisely the same as when the pistonis actuated.

It will be understood that when the piston is forced upward in thecylinder the pawl is operated to strike the gong and rotate the shaft 8,and consequently the rollers or reels 10, mounted thereon. Thus thebands orbelts 11 are wound upon said rollers or reels, during whichoperation the consecutive cards are carried by the interengaged pins andeyelets 16 and 13 from the tray through the space 5, guiding the cardsin their movement and releasing them in the lower compartment, so thatthey fall in consecutive order and in proper position to be gathered upen masse and placed in the tray for the return trip of the car, thefollower 12, under the action of the spring 17, forcing a new card intoposition in front of the window or sight-opening. At the end of the tripthe cards are gathered up and properly arranged in the tray for use onthe return trip.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings I have illustrated a different arrangement forwithdrawing the cards from the tray consecutively and bringing a newcard into position to be seen by the passenger, and this I will nowdescribe. The parts shown in this arrangement are the same as thoseabove described, except as will now be particularly set forth. Insteadof the springs 17 for moving follower l2 and the cards 14, I providecords or tapes 32, one end of each of which is secured to the follower12 and which pass over friction-rolls 33, arranged at the front end ofthe tray 3, their opposite ends being secured to reels or rolls 34,fixedly mounted on the shaft 8. I also substitute for the eyeleted beltsor bands 11 and the pins upon the indicating-cards mechanism forwithdrawing the cards from the tray, arranged as follows: Upon the shaft8 are mounted a pair of sprocket-wheels 35, adjacent the rolls or reels34. A shaft 36 is mounted in bearings 37 above the tray 3, and upon thisshaft are mounted a pair of pulleys 38. Over the said pulleys 38 and thesprocket-wheels 35 are trained a pair of endless sprocket-chains 39,provided at intervals corresponding in distance apart to the width ofthe indicating-cards with hooks or fingers 40, which when the shaft 8and the sprocketwheels 35 are rotated by the mechanism hereinbeforedescribed with reference to Fig. 1 successively engage consecutiveindicatingcards, remove them from the tray, and drop them into thecasing, as will be readily understood by reference to the drawings. Thebearings 37 on the upper shaft 36 are provided with springs acting uponthe shaft to place a uniform tension upon the sprocketchains 35. It willbe understood, of course, that instead of the sprocket-wheel 35 and theendless sprocket-chain 39 a pulley and an endless belt may besubstituted, being mechanically the equivalent of the sprocket wheel andchain.

By my invention I provide a street or station indicator which is ofnovel and simple construction and which is economical, certain, andaccurate in operation.

I prefer to provide a box, tray, or other receptacle 41, as shown in thedrawings, to receive the street or station indicating cards when theyare withdrawn from the tray 3, so that they will be received in saidtray in consecutive order and at the end of the trip may be taken inbulk from the tray and placed back in the delivery-tray 3, the cardsbeing properly marked on both sides with the names of the streets orstations.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In astation-indicator the combination with a casing, a, tray arrangedtherein and dividing the same into upper and lower compartmentscommunicating by a passage at their front ends, a series of street orstation indicating cards arranged in said tray, a follower, and meansfor operating said follower to movethe cards successively to the frontof said tray, of a shaft arranged beneath said tray, means forintermittingly rotating said shaft, and a belt operatively connected tosaid shaft and provided with devices to engage and positively withdrawthe street or station indicating cards successively from the tray whenthe shaft is rotated and carry and guide themthrough the communicatingpassage into the lower compartment of the casing where the cards arereleased and fall'to the bottom of the casing in consecutive order andin position to be inserted en masse in the tray for the return trip,substantially as described.

2. In a station-indicator the combination with acasing, a tray arrangedtherein and dividing the-same into upper and lower compartmentscommunicating by a passage at their front ends, a series of street orstation indicating cards arranged in said tray, a follower, and meansfor operating said follower to'move the cards successively to the frontof said tray, of a shaft arranged beneath said tray, a cylinder andpiston, mechanism connecting said piston withsaid shaft for rotating-theshaft intermittin-gly, and a belt operatively connected to said shaftand provided with devices to engage and positively withdraw the streetor station indicating cards successively from the tray when the shaft isrotated and carry and guide them through the communicating passage intothe lower compartment of the casing where they are re leased and fallinto consecutive order in position to be inserted en masse in the trayfor the return trip, substantially as described.

3. In a station-indicator the combination with a casing, a tray arrangedtherein and dividing the same into upper and lower compartmentscommunicating by passage at their front ends, a series of street orstation indicating cards arranged in said tray and provided each with aprojecting pin, of a follower for moving said cards successively to thefront of the tray, a shaft arranged beneath the tray, means for rotatingsaid shaft, and a belt one end of which is secured to said shaft and thefree end'of which is provided with a series of eyes for engaging thepins on the cards for positively withdrawing said cards from the tray,substantially as described.

4. In a street or station indicator, the combination with a tray anda'series of, street or station indicating cards arranged therein, of afollower, a shaft and means for rotating the same, a connection betweensaid shaft and said follower for operating the latter to move the cardsto the front'of the tray, a shaft arranged above said tray and anendless belt provided with card-engaging fingers trained 'over saidshafts and operated by the firstnamed shaft to withdraw saidindicatingcards from the tray, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

' LISLE B. CALDWELL. Witnesses:

J. O. CAMPBELL, FoY W. DULANEY.

